Matthew Stucky, a newly admitted attorney in San Diego, launched the Cal. Civ. Blog three days ago. He describes his blog as “self-serving” because it is intended to force him to keep up with recent civil decisions, and any information it provides to others is a by-product of that goal. This is far more humility than most bloggers have (including me)! Matthew would seem to be a blogger that even Judge Kozinski — who famously derided bloggers for their lack of humility — would like. Matt, welcome to the blogosphere, welcome to the bar, and good luck with both. I think launching your blog this early in your career is an excellent idea, and I’m sure we will…
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Would You Care for Little Latin with That?
Armillary Observations expands on a brief Volokh Conspiracy post regarding a good-natured disagreement between judges over the continuing vitality of Latin in the law.
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Federal Vexatious Litigant Designation not Immediately Appealable
When a party and his attorney are sanctioned as vexatious litigants and ordered not to file additional complaints without court approval, must they immediately appeal from those orders (the “pre-filing orders”) or appeal instead from the subsequent entry of final judgment? That was the procedural question posed in Molski v. Evergreen Dynasty Corp., 05-56452 (9th Cir., Aug. 31, 2007). Evergreen moved to dismiss the appeals, contending that Molski and his lawyers’ joint notice of appeal, filed within 30 days of entry of the judgment, was filed more than 30 days after entry of their respective pre-filing orders. The Ninth says the appeals are timely. The order against the attorneys is…
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Elder Abuse Act Protective Orders Reviewed for Abuse of Discretion
In Bookout v. Nielsen, case no. G037727 (4th Dist. August 31, 2007), the Court of Appeal was faced for the first time with the question of the proper standard of review on appeal from an Elder Abuse Act protective order. (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 15657.03.) Citing to the statutory language that allows an Elder Abuse Act protective order to issue upon proof “to the satisfaction of the court,” and noting that the Domestic Violence Protection Act contains identical language for the standard for issuing the order, the Court of Appeal adopts the standard of review applicable to appeals of DVPA protective orders: abuse of discretion. Of course, the factual…
- Appellate Jurisdiction, Appellate Procedure, Constitutional Law, Criminal Procedure, Double Jeopardy, Federal Procedure
Expansive Congressional Authorization for Government Appeals in Criminal Cases
In U.S. v. Stanton, case. no. 06-10519 (9th Cir. August 31, 2007), Stanton was convicted by a U. S. Magistrate Judge in a bench trial. He appealed to the District Court, which reversed his conviction. The government appealed from the District Court order. Stanton makes a two-pronged challenge to the government’s right to appeal. First, he contends that jurisdiction is lacking because the government may appeal only where authorized by Congress and the Criminal Appeals Act, 18 USC §3731, does not explicitly authorize the government to appeal from a district court order reversing a conviction entered by a magistrate and ordering an entry of acquittal. Right on both counts, says…
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How — and Why — to Write Great Thesis Sentences
Professor Michael Higdon of UNLV’s William S. Boyd School of Law has an excellent article about thesis sentences in the September 2007 Nevada Lawyer. It’s so good, you don’t want opposing counsel to see it, at least not until after they’ve written their briefs. Of particular value to appellate lawyers is this point about the value of good thesis sentences to the writer: Finally, thesis sentences are particularly beneficial for the legal writer who is seeking to persuade. Psycholinguists (scientists who study the psychology of language) have discovered that readers subconsciously pay closer attention to things that come at the beginning and end of a document or a discreet unit…